Hi All,
I was wondering if anyone has ever used pitted or non pitted dates in their brewing/fermenting. With their soft vanilla nut flavor, they might be interesting to add to a winter batch, maybe a belgian etc. Just hunching… Anyone? Bueller?
Negative, but I am adding figs and raisins to a Dubbel this weekend. As suggested by Mr. Denny Conn, I’m gonna cook down about 1/2lb each of fresh figs and raisins. I’m going to chop them up real small and caramelize them in a wok while using some of the already fermented Dubbel as a deglazer. I’m hoping to get the consistency pretty much to a syrupy liquid. Then I’ll rack the Dubbel to secondary and add the syrup which will sit for a week before I keg it. Very excited to try this beer in a few weeks!
+1 to a dubbel. Or in an APA with rye. Might be nice in a braggot, too.
The fig/raison combo sounds excellent. I like the deglazing step with dubbel, cudos! Or maybe deglazing with a port?? Wouldn’t that be pretty cool picking up a ruby hue in you batch.
The rye idea to offset some of the sweetness is also very appealing. I’ve become a fan of subtle rye character. A minimal spicy addition.
I’ve got the experimentation bug for a Holiday beer. Dates seem pretty unique at this stage of the thread.
Cheers.
So I ended up making an AG Blonde with Belgian Ardennes. I kept the bittering profile very light with a mere dash of Saaz on the back end. It has progressed just like it should as far as a Leffe spin off etc… On Sunday I pureed a pound of pitted dates in approx 6 ounces of brandy and added it to the secondary. Received a huge resurgance in terms of the “K” billowy and white… The fermenter is burping like a champ and I’d estimate it’s got about a good 10 days of anger to blow off. Based on the taste of a date, I’m hoping to achieve a nice nutty vanilla flavor. More to come.
It’s crazy how often I think of an idea, and come to the forum and see something posted about it. I actually just googled beer brewed with dates this morning, didn’t find anything, and came to the forum for my general look through and found this thread. Coincidence? Is it date season or something?
Was munching on a date yesterday while reading Brew Like a Monk, and one of the recipe’s inspired by Pizza Port for a dubbell said raisins were added at the end of the boil. Light Bulb. I was thinking of adding it to the dubbell I plan on brewing this weekend, but perhaps I’ll hold off as a twist on my holiday belgian brew.
Let me know how your experiment turns out!
About a week after adding the dates, I find no particular date taste. In fact, the only thing they might have added is some color and alcohol. The taste is so Leffe, so for that I’m pleased. It’s coming in around 6.8% based on this addition.
Well this will be the last post on this historic thread (that has been met with an overwhelming round of indifference by my brew brothers here on the forum 
I kegged the “Blond Date” this morning and much to my disappointment, I lost about a 1/2 gallon to the date particles!!! That stuff just wouldn’t settle down nor sink enough… Several fine little chunks made it into the keg as well. So it goes, onward through the fog…
The taste is fantastic but not ‘date’ noteworthy in any respect. But it’s got the Leffe qualities I was shooting for.
So, in closing I’ll enjoy a nice blonde and if I don’t have to unclog the dip tube on this batch it will be a miracle.
Mike
Saw this today.
21st Amendment’s
Allies Win The War! - Ale Brewed With Dates
[quote=“gregscsu”]Saw this today.
21st Amendment’s
Allies Win The War! - Ale Brewed With Dates
http://21st-amendment.com/beer/allies-win-the-war
[/quote]
I have had that one. I enjoyed it. But not sure I will be running out to get it again.
I’ve used figs, dates, and raisins in the following way…when primary fermentation is complete, caramelize the fruit in a super hot wok. Using your brewing burner works really well. Put the caramelized fruit into a secondary. Deglaze the wok with some of the beer from primary, then add that to the secondary also. Rack the remaining beer on top.
Denny, the way you directed your comment implies (to me) that you also know your way around the kitchen
I took a pound with about 6 ounces of brandy and put the mess in the food processor. Maybe I should have just split them lengthwise??
I like the idea of carmelizing those type of fruits. I’m not one for fruit beer but the sweetness and “dark” flavors that accompany raisins, dates and fits actually suits my tastes. I might try your process in my next Belgian inspired batch.
Perhaps the dates it will emerge as the beer conditions.
Thanks, Mike
[quote=“gregscsu”]Saw this today.
21st Amendment’s
Allies Win The War! - Ale Brewed With Dates
http://21st-amendment.com/beer/allies-win-the-war
[/quote]
Accidentally enough, my batch had Willamette and Golden Sonnett (EKG strain?). I’d like to try 21st’s beer!
I got into brewing because I’d been cooking for a hobby for 30+ years. Brewing was a natural extension.
I happen to have stated that same thing more than once. The restaurant business put me though school; kitchen, floor and bar. My weekends with my wife are generally predicated around what we are going to make for dinner, who is going shopping where for ingredients and what time we’ll meet at the kitchen counter for happy hour To me cooking is therapeutic and naturally brewing has become a fantastic extension as well. Cool.
You’re lucky to be able to do that. My wife and often have radically different schedules, which makes cooking and eating together impossible all too often.
